Behind the cartoon war: radical clerics competing for followers

The same can be applied to the children of immigrants who are navigating life between an open Western society and the culture from their parents' country of origin. They wrestle with deeply conflicted identities and allegiances. Radical Muslim groups know this and often try to influence and recruit children and teenagers as they travel home from school.

During the past decade, secularized Muslims such as the famous Ayaan Hirshi Ali have called attention to the radicalization of Muslim youth. These are newsworthy moments and both the Danish and Dutch press developed a pattern of highlighting extremist trends within the Muslim communities. Muslim phobia is the result. Indeed, the publication of the cartoons started as an attempt to confront Danish fears of Muslim radicals.

But instead of a civic discussion to examine the limits of free speech and the deeply held beliefs by Muslims regarding images of their prophet, a group claiming to represent all Danish Muslims traveled to the Middle East to bring the cartoons to the public's attention there. Its leader was Ahmad Abu Laban, an imam of Palestinian descent and radical Salafi-Wahhabi inclinations, who after living for nearly a quarter century in Denmark has a limited command of the Danish language and delivers his (often emotionally laden) sermons in Arabic.

The European reality creates a conflicted mode of existence for radical leaders: They would like to apply Islamic law but have no desire to abolish the liberal local laws that allow them freedom of speech to rail against European society.

Mr. Abu Laban's move to take the offending cartoons to the Middle East could be seen as a strategic move against other radical groups to become the "sultan" of Denmark. While he claimed in a National Public Radio interview that his trip to the Middle East was an effort to "dialogue among civilizations," his refusal to communicate with the Danes who have hosted him for the past 25 years will do nothing to further the cause of Muslims within Europe.

Despite the anti-Muslim rhetoric from the European press, there are many Danes willing to entertain conversations with Muslims to find solutions for their shared social problems. Perhaps this cartoon episode will serve as a wake-up call to all Europeans - Muslims and non-Muslims - about the urgent need for true and honest interaction. All of us are interested in the ideals and freedoms we fought hard for. But Europeans need to discuss how much freedom we allow ourselves when it means insulting others. We also need to face the reality that strands of racism and discrimination shape the fabric of our societies.

But whatever constructive initiatives take place, these will falter if moderate Muslims refuse to take responsibility for themselves and their fellow Muslims. They must insist that they will not be represented by radical views only, and they must control destructive elements in their midst.

The words of 13th-century Muslim poet Jalaluddin Rumi could not be more applicable regarding the current situation: "Whoever acts with respect will get respect. Whoever brings sweetness will be served almond cake."

• Nelly van Doorn-Harder, a professor of world religions at Valparaiso University, specializes in Islam.

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